Public Knowledge CEO Chris Lewis and Next Century Cities Executive Director Francella Ochillo are set to testify at the House Communications Subcommittee’s Thursday hearing on broadband access and affordability (see 2104270093), the Commerce Committee said Tuesday. National Urban League Senior Vice President-Advocacy and Policy Joi Chaney and Phoenix Center Chief Economist George Ford will also testify. The virtual hearing begins 11:30 a.m. EDT.
The FBI should provide details on why it continues to “abuse” warrantless surveillance authority under Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Section 702, House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., wrote the agency Tuesday. They cited a recently declassified Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court memorandum opinion from November 2020 “detailing the FBI’s ‘apparent widespread violations.’” Jordan and Biggs demanded detailed accounts about every instance since December 2019 the agency used Section 702 powers “for purposes unrelated to national security.” They asked for how the agency is responding to the opinion. The bureau confirmed receipt of the letter.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., doubted "there will be any Republican support -- none, zero,” for President Joe Biden’s infrastructure proposal, which includes $100 billion for broadband (see 2103310064). Republicans signaled support for pursuing core infrastructure spending; the Senate GOP’s counterproposal includes $65 billion for broadband (see 2104220067). “We're open to doing a roughly $600 billion package which deals with what all of us agree is infrastructure," McConnell told reporters Monday. "If it's going to be about infrastructure, let's make it about infrastructure.” Republicans “are not going to revisit" the 2017 tax cut law, as Biden proposed to pay here, McConnell said.
Communications Decency Act Section 230 and similar language shouldn’t be included in trade agreements, House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., wrote U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai Monday. It would be “inappropriate” to export such language with ongoing policy discussions about Section 230, they wrote: “Given that our Committee closely oversees Section 230 and all portions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, we also hope the Office of the United States Trade Representative will consult our Committee in the future in advance of negotiating on these issues.” Pallone wrote a similar letter to the Donald Trump administration with then-ranking member Greg Walden, R-Ore. (see 1908060064).
Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., reintroduced his privacy legislation Thursday that would let consumers access, correct and erase personal data (see 2003120047). The Consumer Data Privacy and Security Act would preempt state privacy laws. Brandon Consolvo, BSA|The Software Alliance legislative strategy director, called S-1494 “a step in the right direction.”
The House Cybersecurity Subcommittee plans a hearing on policy solutions for ransomware at 2:30 p.m. EDT Wednesday. Palo Alto Networks Federal Chief Security Officer John Davis, Global Cyber Alliance Executive Director Americas Megan Stifel and New Hampshire Chief Information Officer Denis Goulet will testify.
It’s important the U.S. government fund research for novel science and technology that industry isn’t willing to invest in, said Eric Lander, President Joe Biden’s nominee for Office of Science and Technology Policy director, during his Senate Commerce Committee confirmation hearing Thursday. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, questioned whether the Endless Frontier Act (see 2104270045) is a misguided attempt to outspend China in R&D. If the government is willing to spend $100 billion, Lee said, why not put up $250 billion or $1 trillion? He asked if there’s a point at which government spending becomes counterproductive. Lander, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor, said it’s appropriate to be developing ways to move things from fundamental research into industry by filling the gaps between the two. In opening remarks, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., and ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., questioned things that have surfaced from Lander’s past. Duckworth said she’s troubled by claims of his “downplaying” contributions of female Nobel Prize laureates; his “toasting” of James Watson, a scientist criticized for racist, misogynistic and anti-Semitic views; and his attending lunch meetings with Jeffrey Epstein, who was charged with sex trafficking. Lander said he met Epstein “briefly” at two separate events over three weeks in 2012: "Epstein was an abhorrent individual, and my heart goes out to his victims. I chose to have no association whatsoever with him." If confirmed, Lander said OSTP staff will look like the U.S., with a diverse mix of talented women and minorities. Lander has a degree in mathematics from Princeton and a doctorate from the University of Oxford, where he was a Rhodes scholar. He received a MacArthur “Genius” award in 1987 and helped lead the Human Genome Project. Introducing him, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., called him a scientist “to his bones,” who believes in data. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., called him one of MIT’s most “beloved” teachers. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., asked Lander if the U.S. needs to better train its cyber workforce. He responded that the U.S. doesn't "have enough people trained in [cybersecurity] to be able to both defend and then think about how to construct systems that are less hackable.”
Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., filed the Generating Resilient and Energy Efficient Network (Green) Communications Act Thursday to strengthen communications networks’ resiliency against natural disasters. Markey noted plans for the legislation in February (see 2102020063). It would authorize $5 billion for a new NTIA program to fund grants and revolving loans for projects designed to strengthen communications networks’ resiliency and increase energy efficiency. Projects in low-income, rural and minority communities would get priority, as would projects that demonstrate the biggest overall reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, benefit the most vulnerable areas or use “green solutions” to improve resiliency. The bill would require the FCC to create rules and a resiliency framework aimed at minimizing the number, duration and impact of future network outages. Markey said he plans to attach the measure’s language to “any comprehensive infrastructure package” that comes out of ongoing talks (see 2104290076).
Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune, R-S.D., asked GAO Thursday to review the FCC’s $3.2 billion emergency broadband benefit program (see 2104290085), citing the need to ensure efficacy. “The goals of the EBB program are laudable, but as responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars, it is imperative Congress and GAO conduct proper oversight,” the senators wrote U.S. Comptroller General Gene Dodaro. “The FCC quickly adopted rules to establish the program, but despite the program not disbursing any funds to its intended recipients -- consumers who are struggling to pay for their broadband service during the pandemic -- there have already been calls” for $6 billion (see 2103110060) “in additional support for the EBB program” via the Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act (HR-1783/S-745). “Before additional funding is considered for this untested program, we believe proper oversight of this publicly funded program is critical to allowing Congress to thoroughly and carefully consider the program’s benefits,” they said. GAO didn’t immediately comment.
Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune, R-S.D., and Consumer Protection Subcommittee ranking member Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., filed the Improving Spectrum Coordination Act Thursday to improve agencies’ communication. Lawmakers seek to prevent a return of the spectrum policy fracases that became routine during President Donald Trump’s administration (see 2010260001). The measure would require the FCC and NTIA to update their spectrum memorandum of understanding, adding language governing a process for addressing interagency policy differences and instituting a resolution process. The bill would clarify NTIA’s role as the representative of other federal agencies to the FCC on spectrum matters and would ensure the government considers scientific analyses and additional potential implications of reallocations and other actions.